06/07/2026
by Emma Harrison
If Saturday’s action at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix 2025 Season Grand Final, presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, is anything to go by, then it may well be a case of Christmas coming early for many SailGP fans on Sunday.
And among the surprise results and tricky conditions, we’re still no closer to knowing who are the three teams that will contest Sunday’s Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix 2025 Season Grand Final.
Germany SailGP Team Presented by Deutsche Bank Wins Race 1 at Big Odds
It all started with the Germany SailGP Team Presented by Deutsche Bank taking the opening race at odds of 13.33, the eighth-biggest price of the 12 teams in action, yet another reminder of the unpredictable nature of this wonderful sport, where anyone can beat anyone on their day, and do just that.
NorthStar and the ROCKWOOL Racing SailGP Team completed the podium, but the four teams still in contention to make the Grand Final – Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team, the BONDS Flying Roos SailGP Team, the Black Foils SailGP Team and Los Gallos SailGP Team – all struggled, a common theme throughout the day among the Championship favorites.
There were more upsets on the cards in Race 2, this time ROCKWOOL Racing being the first ones over the line to reward backers of them at pre-race odds of 13.33, the same price that Germany by Deutsche Bank were for the opening race, meaning it was back-to-back outsiders taking the opening two races. It was all pretty easy in the end for Nicolai Sehested and his crew, finishing miles ahead of the France SailGP Team in second and the United States SailGP Team in third.
There were more struggles for the Championship’s leaders in this one too, with the Black Foils the best of them in fifth, while the BONDS Flying Roos and Emirates GBR could manage no better than tenth and eleventh places respectively, Los Gallos just ahead of them in ninth.
Race 3 Brings Los Gallos Back Into the Equation
Penalties for both Tom Slingsby’s BONDS Flying Roos – for starting early – and Peter Burling’s Black Foils, for not giving room at mark three, cost them dearly as they had to settle for eighth and eleventh place finishes, with ROCKWOOL Racing seizing on the opportunity to secure their second race win of the day.
The Switzerland SailGP Team finished as runners-up and the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team completed the podium, yet another reminder, as if any was needed, that every team in the Championship can have their day in the sun.
But the biggest winners of all in Race 3 were arguably Los Gallos, who were fifth across the line and gained priceless points over the BONDS Flying Roos, who could only manage an eighth-place finish.
Only for Los Gallos to Struggle in Race 4…
Early start penalties were awarded to the France SailGP Team, NorthStar and Los Gallos in Race 4, and they were to prove to be disastrous for the latter, who could finish no better than eleventh, with only the US SailGP Team finishing below them.
So plenty of work for Los Gallos still to do on Sunday if they’re to make the Grand Final. They’re on just eight points for the event, sitting at the bottom, with the only good news for them being that the BONDS Flying Roos are only one place above them, so it’s not quite over just yet.
And if Saturday’s action is anything to go by, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will win the Grand Final.
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